MSI H170A Gaming Pro: 54 facts and highlights

1. RAM speed

It can support faster memory, which will give quicker system performance.

2133MHz

ASRock Z270 Taichi: 21233MHz

2. Easy to overclock

Overclocking your system is normally quite a complicated procedure, but some manufacturers provide a button or a program where one click will automatically overclock your computer, giving you increased performance.

MSI H170A Gaming Pro

17% have it

3. PCIe 3.0 x16 slots

PCIe slots allow you to connect peripherals to the motherboard, most commonly graphics cards but also others such as sound cards and network cards. The ‘x16’ represents the number of lanes it has, with more lanes supporting higher data transfer rates. PCIe 3.0 offers higher transfer rates than PCIe 2.0, and can give increased performance.

2

Gigabyte GA-7PESH3: 8

4. maximum memory size

The maximum amount of memory (RAM) supported.

64GB

Asus Z10PE-D16 WS: 1024GB

5. fan headers

Fan headers are connection points on the motherboard that cooling fans can be connected to. Fans can also be connected straight to the power supply, but when connected to the motherboard you gain much finer control over them through software.

5

Asus Sabertooth X99: 12

6. SATA 3 connectors

SATA is an interface used to connect mass storage devices such as hard drives and Blu-ray drives. SATA 3 has a native transfer rate of 6 Gbit/s, which is twice as fast as SATA 2, the previous revision. This is particularly useful if you use an SSD as it can perform at higher speeds.

6

MSI 990FXA-GD80: 12

7. memory slots

More memory slots (also known as DIMM slots) allow you to add more RAM to your computer. It is also useful when upgrading, as you can add RAM to an empty slot instead of replacing an existing memory module.

4

Asus Z10PE-D16 WS: 16

8. Supports RAID 1

RAID is a storage technology that combines multiple disks into one unit. RAID 1 mirrors the data across the drives. This gives you greater data security as if one drive fails, the data will still be accessible from another.

MSI H170A Gaming Pro

78% have it

9. USB 2.0 ports (through expansion)

The motherboard has USB 2.0 headers, which are pin connections that you can connect additional USB ports to.

2

Asus P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt: 10

10. has a HDMI output

Devices with a HDMI or mini HDMI port can transfer high definition video and audio to a display.

MSI H170A Gaming Pro

74% have it

11. PCIe 2.0 x16 slots

PCIe slots allow you to connect peripherals to the motherboard, most commonly graphics cards but also others such as sound cards and network cards. The ‘x16’ represents the number of lanes it has, with more lanes supporting higher data transfer rates.

0

Asus P9X79-E WS: 7

12. USB 3.0 ports

More USB 3.0 ports allow you to connect more devices to your computer that support USB 3.0. USB 3.0 is an improved version of USB 2.0 which offers faster transfer rates.

6

Asus Z87-Pro: 14

13. USB 3.0 ports (through expansion)

The motherboard has USB 3.0 headers, which are pin connections that you can connect additional USB ports to.

2

Asus X79 Deluxe: 8

14. Has WiFi

The device can connect to WiFi.

MSI H170A Gaming Pro

18% have it

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15. Supports USB charging boost

This feature allows you to charge your devices (such as smartphones and tablets) faster than a regular USB port. Some implementations also let you charge through the USB port even when the computer is in sleep mode or off.

MSI H170A Gaming Pro

58% have it

16. Supports RAID 5

RAID is a storage technology that combines multiple disks into one unit. RAID 5 stripes the data across the drives, giving increased performance compared to a single disk. It also provides greater data security as if one drive fails, the data will still be accessible from another due to the use of parity.

MSI H170A Gaming Pro

70% have it

17. height

244mm

Asus Tinker Board: 53.3mm

18. memory channels

More memory channels increases the speed of data transfer between the memory and the CPU.

2

MSI 990FXA-GD80: 8

19. Has Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a wireless technology that allows you to easily transfer data between different devices, such as smartphones, tablets and computers.

MSI H170A Gaming Pro

18% have it

20. Has S/PDIF Out port

S/PDIF is an interface used to transmit digital audio with high fidelity.

MSI H170A Gaming Pro

65% have it

21. Has USB Type-C

The USB Type-C features reversible plug orientation and cable direction.

MSI H170A Gaming Pro

19% have it

22. warranty period

When covered under the manufacturer’s warranty it is possible to get a replacement in the case of a malfunction.

3

ASRock Z97 OC Formula: 5

23. USB 2.0 ports

More USB 2.0 ports allow you to connect more devices to your computer that support USB 2.0.

2

Asus Sabertooth 990FX: 10

24. Has integrated graphics

With integrated graphics you don’t need to buy a separate graphics card.

MSI H170A Gaming Pro

9% have it

25. RJ45 ports

RJ-45 ports are used for LAN (Local Area Network) connections. With more ports you can achieve increased bandwidth across a LAN, or connect to multiple networks. It also has the added benefit of not losing connection to the network if one fails.